Mail Order Madness (3 page)

Susan studied the older woman while her head was bowed reading the letter. 
If you ignored their dress, Harriett could have been her sister.  She looked to be
around twenty-eight and had blond hair and green eyes.  She was slim and seemed very
graceful despite her pronounced limp. 

“Everything looks good here.  The train ride is a long one.  You’re not going to have
a chance to bathe or anything once you’re on the train.  That’s one of the biggest
complaints of my brides.  Will that bother you?”

Susan made a face.  She didn’t like the idea of going for over a week without a bath,
but it would be worth it to get married and away from her family once and for all. 
“I’ll manage.”

“Most men do make some kind of arrangement for you to bathe before your wedding, I’ve
found.”

“Good.  I can’t imagine getting married without at least bathing first.”
  The idea of a long train ride was both exciting and daunting. 

“I can’t imagine that either.”  Harriett studied the younger woman for a moment. 
“Would you like me to see you off?  I do that for most of the brides I send out.”

Susan thought about that for a few seconds.  “I think that would be good.  I’m sure
Elizabeth will be there if she can, but I have no way of knowing whether she’ll be
able to get away or not.”

“What time does your train leave on Wednesday?”

“Eight in the morning.”

“Come by here at seven and we’ll walk to the train station together.  We can talk
on the way.  If you
r
sister comes, great.  Then there will be two of us to see you off.”

Harriett stood and led Susan to the door.  On impulse, Susan turned and hugged Harriett
before leaving.  “Thank you so much.  You’ve helped me a lot.”

“It’s my job to help as much as I can.  I think of each of my brides as a friend.”

Susan thought about Harriett’s words as she walked to the general store just a few
streets over.  Beckham was
n’t a large city
, so nothing was very far apart. 

Once she got to the store, she went inside, looking at fabrics for some new dresses. 
Everything she owned had once belonged to her mother and had been cut down for her. 
Jesse had been generous with the money he’d sent, and although she knew she needed
some for the trip, she could buy enough fabric for three or four dresses without a
problem.

She flipped through the bolts of cloth and picked out a pink with small flowers, a
blue check, a pretty lavender
, which she realized matched the cow exactly,
and a forest green to match her eyes.  She also bought an entire bolt of white linen
for new undergarments.  She couldn’t wait to get home to start sewing.

After paying for her purchases, she carried the small wooden box the shopkeeper had
given her home.  Her mind was full of how perfect life would be without poorly behaved
children climbing all over her.  Oh, she had no illusions.  She knew someday she’d
have children too.  Her mother had twelve for goodness sakes!  But she would have
some time before the children arrived to just be Susan.  She loved the idea of just
taking care of laundry and cooking and cleaning for two people.  She sighed.  Life
would be heavenly.

*****

July 1884

Outside of
Fort
Worth, Texas

Jesse Dailey took a gulp of his water as he watched his four young nephews run around
his brother’s house screaming.  The four of them had been causing his brother problems
ever since his sister-in-law,
Caroline
, had died at the birth of two year old twins, Thomas and Walter.  He shook his head
at his brother wondering just how he could live amidst the chaos.  “I have news.”

David raised his eyebrow waiting.  “You found a ranch?”

Jesse shook his head.  “Not yet, but I’m saving every penny.”  He folded his hands
behind his head and leaned back in the kitchen chair.  He’d just had a good meal
, thanks to his brother’s cook and housekeeper, Sadie
.  “I’m getting married.”

David’s jaw dropped.  “Married!  I didn’t even know you were courting anyone.”

Jesse grinned.  “I don’t have time to court anyone.  Not with spending every waking
moment at the newspaper office, picking up extra articles so I can make enough to
buy a ranch.  I like being a reporter, but my heart is in ranching.  I should have
been the big brother.”

David laughed.  “I’ve told you a hundred times, you’re welcome to
half the ranch.  You can even live here with the boys and me while you build yourself
a house
.”  He kicked his brother’s foot affectionately.   “Who’s the girl?”
  He reached for a cookie and popped half of it into his mouth.

“I sent for a mail order bride.”
  Jesse said the words nonchalantly, knowing they’d surprise his brother.

David choked on his cookie.  After a moment, his eyes watering, he asked, “Seriously?”

“Seriously.  She’s going to be here in a couple of weeks.  You coming to the wedding? 
I’m just going to do a courthouse thing.  No need for a big church wedding when she
doesn’t know anyone here.”

“Of course, I’ll be there.  Girl got a name?”
  David studied his younger brother as if he was trying to decide if he’d lost his
mind.

Jesse’s brow furrowed.  “Susan.”  He thought over the details of her letter.  “She’s
18 and the oldest of twelve kids.   Says she can cook.  I think she’s just ready to
get out of Massachusetts.”

David nodded.  “I’ll watch and see how it works out for you, and I may do the same.” 
He jerked his thumb over his shoulder to where his older two boys were pointing imaginary
guns at each other and screaming and his two youngest were
pushing each other.  “I’ll never get a bride who knows me and my brood.  I need one
who is unsuspecting.”

Jesse laughed and clapped his brother on the shoulder.  “You have a point.”

David sighed.  “Sure would be nice to have a warm body in bed at night again, though. 
A man gets lonely.”

“I thought you were going to court that sweet nanny of yours.”  He looked around,
realizing she wasn’t there.  “Where is she anyway?”

“Where do you think?  After the boys put a toad in her bed for the third time this
week, she left.  She said, ‘I’m not going to stay here another minute with your boys. 
They’re monsters.’  Then she stuck a finger in my face and told me if I didn’t find
a good woman to be their mother and take them in hand, they’d be ruined forever.” 
He shrugged.  “I guess she wasn’t volunteering to be that good woman.”

Jesse shook his head, sympathizing.  David had dealt with
the four boys on his own
for a year, before deciding to find himself a wife.  He hadn’t felt right about remarrying
before that.  By that time the boys had been running wild for too long, and their
behavior showed it.  “Maybe a mail order bride is something you need to do.  Next
time I see you, I’ll give you the address of the woman in Massachusetts that runs
the agency I used.”  He stood up.  “I’ve got to go.  I promised my editor I’d run
to Hell’s Half Acre tonight to do a story on a man who was murdered there.”

David made a face.  “Be careful.  The Acre gets worse every year.  Do you have anyone
who can go with you?”

Jesse shrugged.  “I was going to ask you, but you seem to be without a nanny for the
boys.”
  Again.

“Yeah, I’d go, but it’s not a good time.  Find someone, though.  You really shouldn’t
go there alone.  Especially at night.”  He looked out the window.  It was dusk, but
by the time Jesse made it back to town it would be full night.  “Be really careful
whether someone’s with you or not.”
  He made a face.  “Maybe you should wait until daylight.”

“I’ll be okay, big brother.  I’ve been taking care of myself for several years now.”

David stood up and hugged his brother.  “Take care.”

Jesse yelled over the din, “Goodbye monster children!  I’ll be back!”

Albert and Lewis looked up from their game of cowboys and Indians and ran over to
hug their uncle.  “See you at church!”

The two younger boys ignored him as usual.  With a last wave, he left, riding into
town to find out what had happened to Joshua Campbell, a man who had died there the
previous evening.  He didn’t have time to find someone to go with him, so he went
alone.  He’d be okay.  He’d been in The Acre for stories lots of times.  Just never
at night.

Chapter Two

Susan made the two mile walk home carrying her box of fabric.  She wanted to start
sewing immediately, but knew she still had to do her three day per week job for the
Jacobs.  She wondered if Elizabeth could take over there.  Of course, that would leave
Mary in charge of the younger siblings, and Mary was only ten.  Whatever happened,
they’d make it work.

When Susan arrived at home, she saw her mother was already there.  Ma usually worked
until at least six, so Susan was surprised to see her before five.  Susan walked up
behind her in the kitchen and kissed her cheek, before asking, “What are you doing
home already?”

Lucy Miller turned and smiled at her
e
ldest child.  “We finally got enough money saved up to pay off the doctor bills. 
I’m home for good again.”  She turned back to the stew she was making, carefully dropping
in the potatoes and carrots she’d peeled and chunked.  “What have you been off buying?”

Susan sighed.  She probably should have talked to her parents about her plans already,
but they were always so busy she hated to bother them with little things.  Of course,
her moving to Texas to marry wasn’t exactly a little thing.  “We need to talk for
a minute, Ma.”

Lucy turned back to Susan when she heard the serious tone to her voice.  “What’s wrong?”

Susan put the box down on the kitchen table.  “Nothing’s
wrong
.  I’m getting married and moving to Fort Worth, Texas.”  She said the words quickly
to get them over with.

Lucy put down the spoon she was using to stir the stew and sat down at the table. 
“Sit and tell me everything.”
  Her face remained calm as she waited for her daughter to explain what was going
on. 

Susan sat down in the chair next to her mother and turned to her fully.  She quickly
explained about the mail order bride service.

“Why do you want to be married so badly you’re not willing to wait for nature to take
its course?  I’m sure you’ll find a young man here.”

Susan sighed.  “Honestly?  There’s no one in our whole church except old man
Duncan, and I’m not marrying him.  I just want to get away and start my own life.” 
She paused.  “And the kids are out of control.  It’s hard to live here, Ma.”
  She felt bad being the one to break the news to her mother, but someone needed to
tell her how bad things had gotten.

Lucy nodded.  “I’m going to whip the kids into shape now that I’m not working.” 

Susan almost laughed.  The kids had been out of control for years.  Her mother just
wasn’t willing to be as strict with the younger ones as she’d been with her four oldest. 
Susan didn’t believe she’d do a thing to get the kids behaving better.  Well, to her
credit, she’d probably work hard at it for a day or two, and then she’d give up when
she remembered how hard it was.  “My train leaves in ten days, Ma.”

“Train?  You already have a ticket?”
  Lucy looked hurt that Susan had made as many plans as she had without consulting
her first.

Susan nodded.  “Look.  I bought all of this fabric so we can make me some pretty clothes
to start my
married life
with.  Would you help me?  Elizabeth already said she’d take over my job at the Jacobs’
house.”

Lucy bit her lip, obviously fighting tears.  “Of course, I’ll help you.  You’ll have
the prettiest clothes any new bride ever had.”  She stood up and dug through the box
Susan had brought home.  “Which do you want your Sunday dress made from?”  She held
up the different fabrics to Susan’s face to see which she thought suited her best. 
“I can’t quite decide between the pink and the green.  What do you think?”

Susan wanted to jump up and hug her mother to thank her for agreeing and helping so
quickly.  She knew her ma didn’t want her to go, but she was helping anyway.  “Umm…I
think I like the green for my Sunday dress if you think that’s okay.
  I’ll be getting married in my Sunday dress as well.  Is green okay to get married
in?
”

Lucy nodded.  “The green is perfect.”  She took the fabric and laid it out on the
table.  “Go get my sewing shears.  We’re going to have this cut out before everyone
comes in for dinner.”

They worked together quickly, knowing their time before the family came in was limited. 
Susan filled the silence by telling her mother everything she knew about Jesse.  “I
promise I’ll write as soon as I get there.”

Elizabeth came in an hour before dinner, having taken on a babysitting job for one
of the neighbors for the afternoon.  When she saw what Susan and her mother were doing,
she smiled.  “I’m not sure if I should be happy for my sister or sad for myself.”